Directions

Prep

15 m

Cook

5 m

Ready In

20 m

Heat bacon drippings in a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Add the greens. Stir-fry, I suppose, since you are stirring and frying, for 1 to 4 minutes (depends on how tough the greens are) or until greens are limp, tender, and have greatly reduced in size. Pork fat is good because it helps cover the bitterness of greens while bringing out their great flavor.

At this point, you have a choice. Either serve them straight from the pan with a sprinkling of salt, or add 3 to 4 cups of water and salt to taste, and boil the greens 1 hour for extra tender, probably-won't-even-have-to-chew greens. If you don't have teeth, clearly you see which way to go here.

All done! Now take a photo, rate it, and share your accomplishments!

Tips & Tricks

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Footnotes

Editor's Note

Original recipe calls for "a mess" of greens.

Cook's Notes

A mess of greens is about as many greens as you can cram into a plastic shopping bag.

To get drippings, fry 4 to 8 strips of bacon in an iron skillet or frying pan until you have gotten most of the grease out and it thickly coats the bottom of the pan.

KEEP IN MIND: If you boil them without frying first, you will have to boil for at least two hours with some type of pork to reduce the bitterness of greens in general. My father boils his all day with a ham hock, and they turn out pretty good, but there is no need for that type of time commitment unless, of course, you have an unbreakable family tradition or sadly have no teeth (no judgement here, toothless ones)!

Reviews 13

17 Ratings

ellie may

8/31/2011

Got a few tips.
Don't mix different greens; they have a variety of cooking times.
Washing greens is VERY important. I soak for 1 hour in a large stockpot. I pull them from the water, (pour on your plants) and individually rinse each leaf in running water, placing each wet leaf on a large cutting board, facing the same way for easier cutting. In batches, I chop off the tip of the stem (hello, compost pile). Then I chop the stems all up in 1/4" slices and put in the cold skillet, reserving the leaf.
I use my largest cast-iron skillet that has a tight fitting lid. Bacon fat is great, or olive oil, but my fave is my own homemade chicken broth. I add 1/2 cup in the bottom of the skillet to stems with 4-5 minced garlic cloves, cover and cook on medium heat while I am chopping up the leaves. (This lets the tougher stems and garlic tenderize a bit and flavor the broth.)
I chop up all the wet leaves into bite-sized pieces, toss them in the skillet (be careful, it is hot!) and cover, cook on low heat and set the timer for 10 minutes (because you may need more broth). Depending on your burner, you may need to add more broth to this concoction to keep it moist every 10 minutes. I have eaten them after 10 minutes; I have also waited until the rest of dinner was ready, after an hour (better)! Just keep 'em wet. Serving time... drizzle on Bragg's Amino Acid to kick up a salty flavor, without adding sodium! For high blood pressure, it's the best salt substitute EVER!
Thanks rjkuns!

Linda (LMT)

8/16/2011

Delicious! I used Broccoli Rabe tossed into the pan with the bacon drippings, a pinch of salt and hot pepper flakes to taste. Simple and very tastey. The bacon drippings add a level of flavor and depth not achieved by using oil. Very very good.